


Alfie

by Blackwidow73



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-04-04 10:12:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14018010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackwidow73/pseuds/Blackwidow73
Summary: Mulder and Scully head to Chicago to investigate a man who is involved with multiple kidnappings and discover that his work could be linked to Scully's current predicament.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Chicago

Rebecca Hartley was the spitting image of her mother, dark long locks framing her round face. Yet, she had her father’s eyes, ones that seemed to contain a permanent innocence to them, contrasting with her mother’s smirk that she always wore. Being the social butterfly she was, she was never one to exclude anyone. The more the merrier. 

Today was her first day of the third grade - the class that her mother taught at Tracy Grammar in Chicago. Most children told her that they would be embarrassed to be in their mother’s class, but she wasn’t. To her it just seemed like a good chance to get straight A’s without having to try so hard. She literally lived with the woman that had all the answers. Besides, who would flunk their own daughter? 

“Alright everyone! It’s time to settle down!” Emily called as soon as the morning bell rang. 

Rebecca went to take a seat, but paused as soon as she spotted a kid sitting by himself in the back corner of the room. He wore a red sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head. As she slowly approached him she could see that his face was disfigured. There was this scarring as if he had been injured. 

“Hi,” she gently greeted as she took her seat. 

The boy only looked at her before resting his head on his desk. 

“I’m Rebecca,” she continued, hoping to at least get a response from him. 

“Excuse me,” Emily firmly stated in attempts to get her attention. 

“Sorry,” Rebecca replied, earning a sigh and a smile from her mother. 

The little boy finally looked up to Rebecca. He slowly reached for his hood and froze as soon as he grabbed the fabric. She offered him a smile to try and encourage him. All she wanted was to make sure he had a friend, he looked so lonely back there and she was was sure he was nice. He didn’t seem mean. 

He forced himself to go ahead and reveal himself to her. His face was covered in scars making him look as though he had been the victim of a bad car wreck. Blotches of his skin didn’t match together. 

“Ew!” Yelled a little girl from across the room. 

“He’s not gross!” Rebecca argued, standing. 

“He looks sick!” 

“Enough!” Emily sternly warned. 

“Tommy, Cindy, you two need to apologize!” She instructed. She then turned her attention to Rebecca. “Now Becky, why don’t you go ahead and take…” She had to pause for a moment. Most of these children had been to her house before, she knew the names. This however was a new student she didn’t even know to prepare for. “I’m sorry, sweetie. What’s your name?” 

“Alfie,” he softly answered, sounding as though he were about to cry. 

“Becky? Why don’t you walk Alfie down to the office? Just tell Miss Lambert that I needed a moment to talk to the rest of the class,” she gently suggested. 

Rebecca nodded to her before taking the boy’s hand and leading him out of the classroom. “You’re all getting yelled at!” She mocked them as she walked out the door, causing Emily to roll her eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” Rebecca started as they made their way down the hall. She noticed that Alfie had made sure to pull his hood back up before they saw anyone else. 

“Why didn’t you laugh?” He asked, genuinely surprised. 

“I didn’t see anything funny,” she replied. 

She continued walking, but noticed that she was suddenly alone. He’s paused a few paces back and was just standing there. “Are you okay?” 

“Why are you being nice to me?”

Rebecca didn’t truly understand the question. She didn’t see why she had any reason to act any other way towards him. Besides that, being nice to him garnered a pretty disgusting reaction from Tammy, and to Rebecca, that was an accomplishment. 

“I don’t know,” she answered. “Do you not want me to?” 

Alfie offered her a small smile. “You wanna come over to my house after school? I don’t get too many friends that I can invite over,” he offered. 

“Let me ask my mom,” she replied. “I’ll ask when we get back to the room.” 

oooooo

“Rebecca Hartley. Eight years old. Goes over to a friend’s house and neither she nor her friend Alfred Myers have been seen since,” Mulder said, tossing the file onto his desk for his partner to examine. 

Scully sighed, reaching for the folder. “Since this seems to mundane for you to even consider looking at, why don’t you just tell me what it is that’s different here?” 

“Well,” he started, leaning back in his chair. “If you do some further reading you’ll see that this Alfred Myers kid has been present with a lot of missing children.” 

Scully’s brow furrowed as she skimmed through the papers. “It says here that he’s been to six different schools,” she mentioned. 

“And at each school, there’s been a missing child from each of his classes,” Mulder added. 

Scully set the folder back down and shrugged. “It looks like he lives with his father, Donald Myers. Has he not been considered a suspect? It seems pretty clear that he would have something to do with this.” 

“Now I thought the same thing,” Mulder replied, leaving his chair to go retrieve another file. “But they’ve always managed to pinpoint it on someone else. Now I would claim that he’s framing these people, but the police have always found pretty damning evidence against the others. And it’s always been people that no one could link to Donald.” 

She watched intently as he walked over and handed her another folder containing all the men arrested for the kidnappings. “Is this the part where you tell me that little Alfred is an alien hypnotizing these men so that we have to fly all the way out to Chicago to look for a kidnapper?” She muttered, irritated. 

Mulder was taken aback by her reaction. Normally she would question him and maybe even judge a little. It was never anything too much, but he had noticed that she had been snippy lately. “Something wrong? Or do you just hate Chicago that much?” He questioned. 

Scully huffed, setting the folder aside before moving to close the door. “I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you,” she stated, hurrying back to her seat. 

“What is it?” He asked, growing concerned. 

Scully sat there and watched him for a moment. Something told her that she needed to memorize everything about him. She trusted him with her life and knew that he would be understanding, but she was scared. This was a big commitment and she knew that sometimes even the strongest of men could be chased away by such things. 

“Mulder?” She started, taking a moment to try and brace herself just in case. “I’m pregnant.” 

A soft laugh emitted from him as he breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn’t even realize that he had been holding his breath, anticipating to hear the worst from her. This however was great, at least to him it was. “Really?” He asked. 

“Yes,” she answered, relaxing a little. She didn’t even notice that her hand went to rest on her abdomen. 

“Is it mine?” He teasingly inquired. 

Scully rolled her eyes. Even if she knew he was kidding, she still didn’t appreciate him trying to ruin this moment for her. It took nearly two weeks for her to be able to admit it to herself let alone him. “Mulder I…” 

“I know,” he laughed. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips that left her with a smile. “Thank you.” 

“You mean it?” She didn’t doubt him, she just wanted the reassurance. After spending the entire morning stressed and ill, it was nice to hear him say it. 

“I mean it,” he replied. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him once more. “I suppose I owe you a thank you too.”

“I believe there’s evidence that you already thanked me enough,” he replied, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

“Keep it up and it’ll be a very long time before I thank you again,” she warned with a smirk. 

“How about I just go reserve our seats?” He offered before he pulled back from her. 

“You do that. I’ll gather everything we’ll need,” she told him. 

Scully sat there, watching as Mulder got up and left the room. Suddenly she was excited. Maybe this would all work out very well for them. She wouldn’t rush him into anything, but they would raise the baby together, she would finally get to be a mother, something she had wanted for a long time.


	2. I'm Fine

Chapter 2: I'm Fine 

“You know, I think it might be easier if I moved in with you,” Mulder suggested from his seat beside her on the plane. 

“You do already have the key,” she replied. 

Although she loved how eager and supportive he was being, something felt off about the whole thing. It felt fake somehow. It wasn’t anything Mulder had done, it was all situational. This baby, being with someone she loved and trusted, it was too good, it had to be. There had to be something wrong for all of this to be real and she just wasn’t finding it. 

“That does tend to make things easier,” he added. 

There was a silence that fell between the two. They just sat there, side by side and staring forward. Scully reached over, taking hold of his hand. 

This was the first time she had ever been nervous on a flight. Sure, there had been times before with turbulence and whatnot, they just didn’t feel as ominous then. Now that she was about to be a mother she was starting to see the threat in everything around her. What if she slipped and fell? What if there was something wrong with the food she ate? She had compiled this mile long list of things that could happen that would kill the baby and she made it a point to try and avoid each and every scenario. 

As she turned her head and gazed out into the clouds, she couldn’t help but picture the entire plane going down in flames. Or they could have been that flight that disappears and no one ever finds them. There was also a chance that someone on this plane had a gun or a bomb and wanted everyone to go down with them. 

“I think we’ll be fine.” 

She was brought out of her thoughts and quickly turned to face him. It were as if he had read her mind. Or, perhaps she had been squeezing his hand a little too hard, something she noticed and corrected as she nervously laughed. 

“I’m sorry. I guess I zoned out there,” she explained. 

“It’s almost like you’re going through something life changing,” he replied, offering her a smile. 

It was hard seeing her worry so, he never much liked to see her so distressed. Somehow though, he couldn’t share that anxiety with her. He was filled with excitement. Most things in his life had been filled with dread and anger and regret. This was something good, something that gave his life more meaning than to simply get revenge for the way his family had been torn apart. He would now have his own family and they would be able to protect their child. 

Maybe there were some fears attached to this child, but he managed to block them out. There was nothing that anyone could tell him that could change the way he felt right now. He just wished that she could feel the same way, but she would always have her doubts he supposed, about everything. 

Scully looked to him, a question on the tip of her tongue that she wasn’t sure if she should ask - “do you really want this?” She couldn’t explain how, just that something felt wrong. She had been having these small bouts of cramping. Her doctor told her that what she was experiencing was completely normal and that she was just anxious. She wanted so badly to believe her doctor, she just could not. Her gut was telling her that this baby needed help and she didn’t know what to do. It was making her feel like the worst mother in the world. 

“Do you think we’re ready for this?” She questioned, resigned. 

Mulder could tell that there had been something on her mind, but he also knew better than to ask and push her to talk. Dana Scully only told you what she wanted you to know and when she decided you should know. 

“Two responsible adults with steady jobs who happen to actually care about each other? I don’t know, Scully. We might have to tell that kid to stay in there a few years so we can get our lives together,” he responded. 

She sighed, not amused with his answer as she turned to face forward. Her hand went up to play with the cross around her neck. Always the skeptic, she still had this tendency to believe in God, to cling to that small part of her rooted in Catholicism. It was comforting somehow to believe that maybe no matter what she would never have to be alone and that maybe she was being helped in some way that she could not fully see or understand. 

Mulder watched her, wondering what it was that was running through her mind. He had never asked her, but he had an idea of her belief system. She would never fully admit that she did believe in God. Whether or not it was true Catholicism or if she were agnostic, he wasn’t sure. She never seemed to drop enough hints. It was something very private to her. 

“Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?” He carefully inquired. 

“You mean in a cause and effect sort of way?” She questioned, playing ignorant. 

“Is that supposed to be my answer?” He asked, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He knew exactly what she was trying to do. 

She looked to him with a smirk. It wasn’t something they ever discussed. She always felt he would claim her hypocritical for believing in God, but not in the supernatural. That was the problem with science though, it had been pounded in her mind that everything needed to be proven, except God. Her family and school taught her that God was above proof. She was happy and healthy and that should have been enough for her to know that existed. 

“For a man who believes in everything, I’m surprised you haven’t found time to believe in any God,” she remarked. 

“I guess I just have a hard time believing in a God that would create some of the stuff that I’ve seen,” he mentioned. 

Scully nodded in response. It made sense to her, God was supposed to be a protector, a guardian. A protector never allowed people to be stolen away from their families or for innocent people to be killed for no reason. Those were the only things that caused her to question her faith at times. 

“Hey, uh, I know I told you that I felt better sitting by the window, but I think I may need to trade you seats,” Scully told him, feeling a bout of sickness starting to build up. 

Mulder nodded, jumping out of his seat and allowing her to rush back to the bathroom. He just hoped that there wasn’t a line. If there was, he was sorry for whoever would be standing in front of her. 

Scully ran down the aisle, hand over her mouth as she prayed she would make it there in time. Luck was on her side as she made it there with no one before her. She didn’t even lock the door behind her. She entered the room and essentially collapsed onto the floor. 

Mulder slowly followed her, intending to make sure that she was okay. Once he arrived at the scene, pushing the door open to see her slouched on the ground half conscious, he was glad he did. 

“Scully?” He asked, cautiously stepping into the tiny room. 

She hummed in response, looking around the room and trying to put things together. Everything was suddenly fuzzy. She couldn’t fully remember where she was or what she was doing. All she knew was that she felt weird, a strange pain in her stomach that shouldn’t be there, her head pounding. 

Mulder knelt down beside her, figuring maybe she had been dehydrated. It seemed plausible given the fact that he had to wait at her place twenty minutes while she finished her first bout of sickness for the day. Since then, he hadn’t seen her even take a sip of anything. 

He looked back over his shoulder and studied the aisle. He didn’t have enough room to actually carry her, and there was a line forming outside of the bathroom. 

“Come here,” he whispered, grabbing her arms and helping her to her feet. 

She was wobbly, he had to hold tight just to keep her on her feet. She gripped onto him, her nails digging into his forearms. Slowly, he started walking her. It was easier than he thought, she was able to navigate herself, even if she extremely weak. 

He sat her down in the window seat, figuring that she shouldn’t be leaving her seat anytime soon. He would find her a bag to throw up into before he would let her try and make it back to the bathroom again. 

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” He questioned. 

It took her a moment before she was finally able to coherently think. She had to briefly shut her eyes to try and stop the room from spinning, her hands gripping the arm rests. 

“Yeah. Thirty thousand feet in the air on our way to Chicago,” she answered. 

Satisfied with her answer, he nodded. “I’ll get you some water. Try and sleep until we get there,” he instructed, hoping that she would get better once he got her to the hotel room. 

Oooooo

Mulder stood outside the motel between the two rooms, the keys in his hand. “Alright Ms. Scully, close your eyes and pick a key. We’ll each step into the rooms and decide which one we like better,” he explained. 

Scully, who was doing fairly better since the small incident on the flight, just looked between the two rooms. The place as a whole didn’t look all that nice. There was nothing special. It was like any other random place they’ve been put up in by the bureau. The only difference was that they have started signing into both rooms, but only using one that they would share. Well, that’s something that’s been happening for a while. And she now carried the evidence to prove it. 

“You really think it makes a difference?” She questioned. 

Mulder shrugged. “I guess we’re about to see.” 

Scully went ahead and obliged, taking one key and unlocking one door while he unlocked the other. They each examined their rooms, which did turn out to be nearly identical. They were simple, a bed, a television opposite of it, a chair off to the side, a small kitchenette, a bathroom, and a small table with two chairs. It was the very basics. The only real difference was that one room, the bathroom was out of toilet paper, so they moved into the other.

“Tell me this isn’t everything you’ve ever dreamed of,” he said as they each set their things down onto the bed. 

“They have been getting cheaper with us,” Scully observed. 

“I’m surprised they haven’t started asking us to share a room,” he said, taking out his extra suit and hanging it in the closet. 

“They’re afraid we might start fooling around,” Scully told him, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. 

“I’ll tell them that we’ll use protection from now on,” Mulder replied. 

Scully scanned the room, wondering what would happen after this trip. Realistically she knew that she would have to tell Skinner at some point, and she had actually waited quite a while to tell Mulder. Within a couple of months she would start showing. People were going to find out and she wanted to step up while she still had the chance to take some control over the situation. Speak now and put all the rumors to rest before they even started. She would be transferred, yes, but that was okay now. 

“Do you want to be there with me when I tell Skinner?” She questioned, hoping he would say yes. 

Mulder closed the closet and turned to her, surprised. He had figured that she would want to keep what they had under wraps, blame the baby on her fake boyfriend. It wasn’t like Scully to be so irresponsible, but it would allow her the chance to at least stay where she was and not get reprimanded. 

“I hate to break it to you but that might give him the impression that it’s my fault,” he replied. 

“I’m pretty sure that when the baby’s first words are “global conspiracy” that everyone will figure it out,” she stated. “Besides, I want you to be able to openly be there. I don’t want to have to watch my every move and make sure that no one catches us together outside of work.” 

Sighing, he went and sat next to her. “You’re really not afraid of getting in trouble with the bureau?” 

“I’m going to get in trouble either way,” she told him. “The way I see it, if we don’t come clean there will be rumors and Skinner will have his suspicions anyways. And with my luck the kid will look just like you.” 

“I could think of worse things to happen to that kid,” he offered. 

Scully rolled her eyes. Maybe he was right on this, maybe they did need to be more careful. The only problem was that this would all be some secret that everyone knew. She was only trying to make things more easier on herself in the long run. Besides that, she had other branches of the bureau to transfer to. Maybe they wouldn’t be out on the field together anymore, but they would have a life together. It seemed like a good trade to her. 

“So you weren’t lying when you said you think we’re ready for this?” She asked. 

Something felt wrong with asking, as though she doubted him, but she couldn’t help it. Everything was happening so quickly. She could trust this man with her very life and she knew that he would do anything for her, yet she had trouble believing him when he told her this was a good thing. And she didn’t even have the heart to tell him. 

He looked to her, saddened by the fact that she had to repeat her question. It was oddly disheartening to think that maybe she thought this was all a mistake. He himself just could not see it that way. To him, this was one of the best things that could happen. They were going to start a family. 

“Look,” Mulder sighed as he went and sat down beside her. “I don’t exactly know what it’s like to be apart of a stable family, so there are going to be times where you’ll have to lead. But there is no way in hell that I will ever walk out on you and our daughter,” he explained. 

“Daughter?” She questioned, amused by the idea. 

“What? You think it’s a boy?” Mulder asked. 

“No,” she replied, her hand moving to rest on her belly. “She’s a little girl.” 

She smiled to him, finally starting to feel as though this were all truly real, and that it was all for the best. They were having a little girl together. A family. She was getting the chance to be the mother she had wanted to be with the man she loved and trusted more than anything. 

Scully leaned in to kiss him, but a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. It was something that had been happening, they were just steadily getting stronger. She doubled over, hissing as she grabbed at her stomach.

"Scully?" Mulder questioned, taking hold of her shoulders.

Although the pain had passed quickly, she could still feel a tightness that disturbed her. She looked up to Mulder, her breath hitching in her throat as she tried her best to keep from crying. Her mind automatically jumped to the worst conclusion - miscarriage. The "spasms" as the doctor called them, were a typical thing for her, this however felt ten times worse. And as soon as she felt she could, she jumped up and rushed to the bathroom.

She could hear Mulder call after her, even get up and follow her, as she slammed the door and vehemently removed her pants and underwear. Shaky hands took hold of the garments and studied them closely. No blood.

There should have been some relief, yet all she could feel was this impending doom. It were as though she never received any confirmation of her baby's health. Something felt wrong, and she couldn't deny it. Things were getting worse.

"Are you okay? Talk to me Scully!"

One hand moved to caress her still nearly flat belly as she turned and absently stared at her reflection. Now she saw what had Mulder so concerned earlier - the lack of color, the dark circles. She looked more like she was terminally ill rather than pregnant.

"Yeah," she flatly answered. "I'm fine.”


	3. Just an Incubator

Chapter 3: Just an Incubator

Her eyes opened, the darkened room fuzzy before her. The last thing she could recall was playing up in a bedroom that didn’t belong to her. It was one that belonged to a boy...

"Mommy!" She called, disoriented. 

She finally felt how sore and dry her throat was. As a matter of fact, her entire body was sore. Every muscle ached as she forced herself to sit upright and study her surroundings. 

The corner contained an old toilet and sink. The windowless door was opposite of the wall she leaned back against. There was an overall smell of must that, under normal circumstances, would have made her gag. 

"Mommy! Daddy!" She tried calling once more, her heart beginning to pound out of her chest.

While struggling to stand, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her leg, causing her to collapse back to the floor and scream in agony. Reaching for the wound, she could feel the messy stitches that covered the length of her calf. The elevated scar sent her over the edge, a numbness over taking her while her skin was instantly covered in goosebumps. 

"Mommy!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, now terrified. 

"SHUT UP!" Donald yelled, throwing open the door.

The sudden burst of light into the room temporarily blinded her as she struggled to view the monster. Being so young, she never truly contemplated her own death. To her, it was something that simply happened to old people. She didn’t need to worry about it at the moment. Now though, her thoughts raced with the images of her funeral, what it would feel like to pass from the consciousness of this world to the next. She began wondering if death hurt, or if it felt like going to sleep. She worried that it would lead to only another state of darkness, the same type she had been met with just moments ago.

All she wanted was one of her parents to walk in and tell her that it would be okay and that she didn't have to worry. She wanted to be in their arms and feel the protection that she once took for granted. She wanted to go home to her own bed and stop hurting.

"I wanna go home!" She cried, tears flowing down her reddened cheeks. "I just wanna leave!"

"If you don't stop that shit right now, you will never leave," Donald warned. 

Standing there, he took a moment to examine her. His eyes, although not clearly visible to her, pierced into her. She could feel that he meant his words when used. There was an energy to back his threats. 

Rebecca hugged her knees tightly to her chest, burying her face in order to soften her cries the second that he left. As she attempted to calm herself, she remembered, Alfie. She was with Alfie.

"Alfie?" She softly called, only to receive silence, one that chilled her to the bone and reminded her of the fact that she was realizing her own mortality.

oooooo

Mulder and Scully sat silently in the car as they navigated the busy streets of Chicago. Her hand lay on her abdomen the entire time, something that Mulder noticed and was waiting for the right moment to mention.

"You know, it is awful convenient for you to be pregnant right after being abducted," he started, hoping that she would see where he was coming from with this observation.

"What are you trying to say, Mulder?" She questioned, beginning to grow defensive.

"Clearly you cheated on me while you were gone," he stated.

Scully sat there, silent for a moment as she wracked her brain for something to say that might actually help the situation. All she wanted was for him to stop talking, to allow her one moment's peace as to keep her from losing her mind. So far, that plan was not working.

"You know, stress makes things like this worse," she quipped.

Mulder sighed, wishing that he could just get her to understand him. He was scared, not just for the baby, but for her. He was terrified the entire she went missing, he couldn't stand the thought of her being punished and poked and prodded at. She was being killed for their sake of morbid curiosity and she was too stubborn to even try and see what was happening.

As he pulled into the garage, he could feel her glaring. "I love you," he flatly reminded her.

Scully didn't say a word. She simply reached over and took hold of his hand. Her expression softened. As badly as she wanted to return the small yet powerful phrase, she couldn't. It wasn't that she didn't love him, it was that there was a small part of her that felt as though she had betrayed him somehow. She dangled a prize in front of his eyes, teased him with it, and then failed to protect it and had it taken away from him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, regretfully.

The two sat there a moment after he parked, leaving the key in the ignition as though they had the option to turn and go back to the hotel room if they grew uncomfortable with each other.

"You ready?" He questioned, deciding it best to ignore her apology for the moment.

Scully sighed, nodding as she rushed to exit the car. It took a moment, but Mulder eventually caught up to her at the door, making sure to open it for her. All she wanted was to get this line of questioning over with so that they could get back to the room sooner and she could lay down for a bit while he found a way to connect this whole thing to aliens or whatever.

"I know I upset you," he started as they reached the elevator, "but I'm just putting it out there."

Scully rolled her eyes as the doors opened. Here we go…

“I really think you should consider what I’m suggesting here,” he stated as the doors to the elevator shut. 

Scully rolled her eyes again as she crossed her arms. Once he got stuck on an idea…. 

“So what are you trying to say, Mulder? You really think this baby isn’t yours?” She questioned. 

This wasn’t unlike Mulder. He was always coming up with reasons for how things worked out, it was part of his charm really. This however, was going a little too far and it was hitting a nerve with her. Hours ago, this was something they were celebrating. They were going to be a family. He was easing her fears and reassuring her that things would fall into place and that he would support her. Now all he was doing was adding to her concerns. 

There was a brief moment of silence as they both stood there, facing the doors as they waited to reach the top floor. There was a tension rising between them, one that was almost palpable at this point. 

“What I’m saying is that I think you should look into this, Scully. I’m just worried about you,” he explained. 

And he was scared. After that little display on the plane he was terrified of what could truly be wrong with her. Everything added up way too perfectly for him - the timing, the symptoms, the scar. There was something going on and he desperately wanted her to open her eyes and see it for herself before it was too late. 

“You don’t think it’s just a little odd that you disappear and come back pregnant with a scar on the back of your neck?” He asked. “Did you even get that thing looked at?” 

Scully sighed. “I’ll get that looked at after this, okay?” 

The doors opened and they each exited as soon as they could as if the air inside were poisonous. 

“This conversation isn’t over,” Mulder muttered to her. 

“I get it, you don’t want the baby,” she snapped. 

She herself even had a hard time believing it, but at the moment it seemed to be the only logical thing that made sense. If it were an alien he wouldn’t have to claim responsibility. His pestering would cause her to push him away eventually, or rather he would hope it would. 

“What?” Mulder asked, offended as he stopped dead in his tracks. 

Scully stopped and turned back to him. “I didn’t mean that,” she said upon seeing the pain etched in his features. “I’m sorry.” 

He huffed, looking at the numbers on each door. “Here,” he said stopping before the apartment. 

“Mulder?” Scully pleaded as she caught up to him. She felt bad for what she said, but he had to realize that his constant pestering was what pushed her there. “I’m sorry. I really shouldn't have said that. I know you better than that.”

“All I want is for you to consider the possibility that maybe there is something wrong, only because I don’t want you getting hurt,” he firmly explained before knocking on the door. 

Bob, who had been waiting on the two agents to arrive, had been waiting anxiously beside the door. The latch was unlocked as soon as he heard the knock and he swung open the door. 

“I’m not some alien incubator, Mulder! And I would…” 

Scully trailed off as soon as she saw the man standing there out of the corner of her eye. “Mr. Hartley?” She asked, her face reddening as she turned to him. 

Bob just stared at them wondering if they were at all sane. “Yeah?” He asked. 

“Agents Mulder and Scully.” Mulder said as they both held out their badges for him to see. “We’re here to ask a few questions about Rebecca.” 

“That’s uh, that’s what I was afraid of,” Bob dryly replied.

Comments as such never bothered Mulder, but it struck Scully in a way that it shouldn’t have. She was instantly offended. She understood why the remark was made, she would have been leery too if she had overheard their conversation. That didn’t mean that she had to be okay with it though. 

“I assure you Mr. Hartley, we do know what we’re doing,” she firmly stated. 

Bob blankly stared at her for a second before stepping aside and motioning for them enter. “Just uh, go- go ahead and take a seat at the table. My wife will be right out,” he explained before heading towards the bedroom to check on her. 

“I think we’re off to a great start here,” Mulder mentioned as he went and pulled Scully’s chair out for her. 

Scully sighed, wishing to get out there as soon as humanly possible. “I hope you know this is all your fault,” she softly quipped. 

“I hope it’s my fault,” he replied, more concern coming through than he had planned. 

Scully was about to argue, but his tone hit her, scaring her in a way. When he was just talking or being sarcastic, it was easy to shrug off his theories. This though, he was scared for her. It revealed to her just how much he believed in what he was saying and it caused a chill to travel down her spine. 

“So do I,” she whispered, her hand resting on top of his on the table. 

He turned his hand over and took hold of hers. It sounded as though he had finally gotten through to her, that she was beginning to see what it was that he was talking about, and he hated it. 

“Hello?” Emily weakly questioned as she made her way to the table. 

“Agents Mulder and Scully,” Mulder said, standing back up and offering his hand. His other hand lay firmly on his partner’s shoulder to tell her to stay seated. 

Bob sat down as Emily finished her greetings. The way that he eyed the two told Scully that he still had his reservations on the two that he was entrusting to find his daughter. 

“I was hoping you could answer a few questions for us,” Mulder started, as though nothing had gone wrong. He pulled out a notepad and set it down the table. “The first thing we need to know is whether or not either of you have any enemies.” 

“I don’t think so,” Bob replied. 

“You are a psychologist, Mr. Hartley. Are there any patients you deal with that could have taken Rebecca? One that was perhaps upset with you? Or maybe one that had some fixation?” Scully asked, doing her best to hide the fact that she was starting to feel sick. 

Bob sat there a moment, trying to remember if anyone said anything to him that stuck out. The problem was that most of his patients were harmless. They could be rude at times, but for the most part they would never do anything to hurt him or his family. A lot of them had been to his apartment and knew both Emily and Rebecca very well. 

“I could take a look through some of my notes and uh, and let you know if I find anything,” he offered. 

“And Mrs. Hartley, I know it can be a bit of a stretch, but were there any children you might have failed? Maybe a parent that found your grading unfair? Anyone at all that could be mad at you?” Mulder questioned. 

Emily just shook her head. “I know who took her, this whole line of questioning isn’t necessary,” she flatly stated. 

“Look, we understand that. Donald Myers is our main suspect. We’re going there right after this. Right now though we just want to make sure that we really can rule out anyone else,” Mulder assured her. 

Scully looked between everyone, suddenly feeling as though she were about to faint. There was something that deeply struck her. Emily’s entire demeanor was bleak and defeated. She knew who took her daughter, they knew who took her daughter, but they had this stupid procedure to go through because that was how it was. 

“I also find it hard to believe that Donald is working alone. We need to know if there’s anyone that he could be working with and where they could be taking her,” Mulder added. 

She was losing track of everything happening and she was sensing that Mulder could tell since he was the one primarily speaking here. 

“I uh… excuse me,” Scully said before getting up and darting to where she figured the bathroom was. However, she was wrong upon first guess and had to race back across the apartment. 

Once she reached the right room, she closed the door and stood went right to the sink where she began splashing cold water on her face. She hadn’t fully realized just how much she had heated up until she caught sight of how red her cheeks had gotten. She looked as though she were having some sort of allergic reaction. 

All she wanted was a moment to catch up, to be able to process what was happening here. She was having a baby but it might not be a baby but if it were a baby things like this could happen to it after it was born and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it and if it weren’t a baby she might still be attached to it but she wouldn’t be able to keep it. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to scream. She just wanted to sit alone in a quiet room for ten minutes without having to worry about anything at all. 

She was brought out of her thoughts by a pounding on the door, one in which she automatically assumed to be her partner’s. “I’m fine, Mulder! I’ll be out in a minute!” She called out, trying to cover the fact that she was struggling to breathe. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Emily called from the other side. 

Scully’s shoulders dropped, now feeling obligated to open the door. She quickly wiped her face and did a quick examination before stepping out into the small hall. “I am sorry about that,” she quietly stated, embarrassed. “I don’t know what happened there. I do assure you though that I am able to do my job.” 

Emily sat there, eyeing her as though she already saw what was going on here. “I believe you,” she replied. “I don’t mind having someone emotionally involved. I need someone who knows how it feels to worry about your child.” 

Scully just stood there, remaining stoic as the woman got up and left the room. Something about what she said. Was she implying that she knew she was pregnant? Or that she knew something was wrong with the baby. The argument they had was heard by the husband at the very least, it wasn’t too far fetched to believe that she could have heard it too. And she wasn’t exactly wearing her poker face that day. 

She walked out of the room to see Mulder and Bob shaking hands and Mulder giving him his card. 

“You ready?” He simply asked, looking to her.

“Yeah,” she softly answered, taking one last glance at Emily who stood in the back. 

Oooooo

“Are you sure you don’t need to stop back at the room for a bit?” 

Mulder had been worried about her ever since the flight. She seemed to get better for tiny bits of time and then slip right back into sickness. Everytime he had went to check on her, she had her head leaned back and her eyes shut. 

“Don’t talk,” she warned, doing her best to keep her contents down. 

Mulder just sighed. They were outside of the city by now, more out into the suburbs. He scanned the road for someplace that wasn’t a yard. As soon as he spotted a playground with a trash can not too far from the road, he pulled over for her. 

“The sooner you let it happen, the sooner you’ll feel better,” He told her. 

“You don’t know that,” she argued. 

“Yes I do. It’s how I made it to class without dying on Monday mornings. Now go,” he instructed. 

Mulder sat there and waited as she got out of the car. He cringed as he heard her out there. All he wanted was to get her back home to DC and let her rest for a bit. 

At the same time, he had this feeling that perhaps she was safer being away from everyone back home. If there were something truly wrong, the last thing he wanted was the smoking man or any of them getting their hands on her. They were naturally watching them, people were probably sent to follow them here. The feeling of being spied on wasn’t even considered paranoia anymore for them, just common knowledge. 

There was a silence that he suddenly noticed, it startled him, causing him to check his rearview mirror. He looked up and huffed as soon as he spotted her sitting in the grass with her head in her hands. Why couldn’t she ever admit when she wasn’t okay? 

“Scully?” He called over as he got out of the car. “You okay?” 

“I’m fine,” She weakly replied. 

“You looked so vibrant there, I wasn’t sure I could trust my eyes,” he remarked as he sat down beside her. 

“Shut up, Mulder,” she responded, this time with a little more energy. 

“I hate to break it to you, Scully, but this pregnancy thing is making you a bit of a downer,” he said, starting to rub her back. 

Scully looked up and smirked to him. She knew that he was worried and that he was trying to cover it up for her sake now. The only problem was that she could still see it in his eyes. He watched her more carefully now. He clung to her a little more. He wasn’t offering to drop her off at the room so that she could rest for a while, he was offering to go back and sit with her. He didn’t want to leave her alone. 

Most of the time, this would annoy her. She would easily feel smothered by this behavior and find it offensive. Currently, that rule was changed. It weren’t as if he could save her from whatever it was that was happening, it was something that her own body was doing to her. It was just knowing that she wouldn’t have to be alone if anything did happen. All she seemed to be able to keep down was tiny amounts of water along with a few vitamin pills. She felt as though she could collapse at any moment, and she really didn’t want to be by herself when it happened. 

“I’ll make it up to you with my glowing looks,” she quipped. 

Mulder was about to make a joke, but couldn’t. She didn’t look well at all. He was growing scared and really just wanted to get her to a hospital, but he knew that she wouldn’t go for that. Not without a fight that would probably make her condition worse. 

“Look, how about we go back to the room. We can go over some of the stuff we gathered at the Hartley’s and some of the stuff handed to us beforehand. Maybe get some pizza or something, let you lay down for a bit, and then we could head over to the Myers house,” he suggested. 

“Or we could just get this over with and then not have to worry about leaving again for the night,” replied. 

Mulder hesitated, but gave in. He stood up and then helped her to her feet. He felt as though they were about to regret this. “I’ll try and make it quick. The house should be right down the street here.” 

Scully just followed, silently climbing back into the car. They weren’t far off, just a block down from their destination. 

As they approached the house, this feeling of unease began to gradually flow throughout her body. She rationalized that it could be the fact that she knew the house belonged to a kidnapper, but there was something more. There was something ominous. 

Staring at the house as they pulled up, she didn’t notice anything different about it. It was a normal house in a normal suburb. Just like most other crime scenes she had been too, there was nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn’t like the movies where the bad places were so easily marked. The only true difference was how much it bothered her. Now, it made her feel as though she had to get out and run. 

“You okay?” 

She couldn’t take her eyes off the house long enough to answer him convincingly. “Yeah. Let’s go,” she quickly answered, getting out as soon as the car stopped. 

Mulder sighed as he watched her march up to the house. As worried as he was, he knew that this was a losing battle. There was no convincing her to go and rest until this little trip was done. So he did what he could do, he got out there and caught up to her, making sure to open and hold the door for her. 

As they entered, it still looked pretty normal. Right before them was a staircase and beside it, a hall that lead to a smaller kitchen. Off to the side was an opening to a living room. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small. It looked lived in, toys scattered, books and such laying around. There were some dishes in the sink. The more she examined it, the more the air of abandonment filled her.

“I’ll go look around upstairs,” she told him. 

Mulder was about to offer to follow her, but his attention was caught elsewhere so instead he continued straight. 

oooooo

Scully slowly walked down the hall. The former feeling of unease intensified with every step taken. There was this coldness that overtook her. She could have sworn she felt the baby move within her, even though she knew she wasn't far enough along. Mulder might have been one floor away from her, but she still felt extremely isolated. As alone as she felt though, there was this paranoia that followed her as if she were being watched.

She paused right outside the first door and took a deep breath. Her grip tightened on her gun as she cautiously entered the room. There was no one there. It was a small study. There was an old beaten couch, and a table and desk cluttered with folders and papers. It appeared as though someone had been frantically looking for something.

Scanning the room, there was one thing that caught her attention right away. There was a picture on the table. She knelt down and stared at her, afraid to touch it. It was the cigarette smoking man, deep throat, and Donald, who was holding a swaddled newborn. They were standing in what looked like some giant lab of some sort.

Panic ran through her veins. It shouldn't have meant as much as it did to her in that moment, yet somehow it did. This red flag went up immediately. There was something gravely wrong here and it had nothing to do with the kidnapping. She started searching through the papers and when she found nothing germane to the photo, she quickly moved onto the desk.

The first thing she picked up was an already opened folder that contained a list of women that had visited a local abortion clinic. She sat it down beside her and kept moving. The next contained some sort of log. These women reported to have pregnancy complications. There were lists of miscarriages and stillbirths and symptoms reported within forty eights hours before hand.

Upon opening the next one she saw pictures of a woman, dark eyes, long brown hair. Her name was Sandra Peterson. Below a few various pictures was a list of her stats - her height, weight, blood type, any medical conditions, blood pressure.

Scully slowed down as she flipped through the papers. She soon learned that Donald had been tracking this woman's pregnancy. The first page was titled "Six Weeks". He didn't say too much, just mentioned that there were minor symptoms such as morning sickness and slight weight gain.

"Week Twelve" contained a picture. She looked further along than only a few months. She was beginning to show. Her coloring was off. Her face was much puffier than most women while pregnant. In his notes he mentioned that the morning sickness had grown significantly worse, that her blood pressure had risen, and that she was experiencing mild to moderate cramping.

"Week Sixteen" contained another picture. At this point Sandra looked near death. Her eyes were glazed as though she hadn't slept. She looked to be about eight to nine months pregnant.

The baby itself is healthy. Stable heartbeat and blood pressure. Sandra is on an IV to ensure that the fetus remains healthy even if she cannot retain any nourishment. Some days the mother is fine, others she is in so much pain that she screams for hours. The bouts have been getting longer. She claims the baby is trying to kill her. She suffers from delusions most likely caused by insomnia.

"Week Twenty" contains a picture of Sandra laying in bed. She looks terminal at this point as though the fetus had truly succeeded in taking her life.

Sandra is in labor now. It's her second day of contractions. Everything is as it should be. The baby is doing just fine, Sandra will be fine soon. If all goes well this could be the very beginning.

Scully just stared at the paper before her. Her entire body went numb as bile rose in the back of her throat. A trembling hand clutched at her belly as she quickly closed the folder and tightly shut her eyes. This had to be something different, separate from her. She wasn't moving along quite so quickly and she didn't look that terrible.

"Scully! You gotta come see this!"

"Coming!" She replied, vehemently gathering up the folders.

As she started to rush out of the room, she paused in the doorway. There was another sharp pain that tore through her. She took a moment to steady herself as she gripped onto the frame with her free hand. This time it was accompanied with this wave of vertigo that made her feel as though she were about to get sick once more today.

It took her longer than she would have liked to try and gather herself. Even when she was finally able to walk she had to take it slow.

"Scully?" He called again, this time growing concerned.

"Almost there!" She replied, starting down the stairs.

She had to cling onto the railing, taking deep breaths to try and calm her stomach. All she wanted was to get all of this over with now. The most she could hope for now was that Mulder had found something legitimate rather than something off the wall.

She got down to the ground floor and rounded the corner to find an open spot in the wall, there had been a panel that doubled as a door.

"Mulder?"

She peaked inside and saw him standing there staring. As she stepped in and turned, she saw what it was that he was talking about. The entire wall was lined with shelves that contained jars of fetuses, random body parts, there were surgical tools, notebooks. Against the adjacent wall was a desk littered in more surgical tools, notes, magnifying glasses.

"Oh my God…" She gasped.


End file.
